The Adventurous Heart of a Son and a Father's Second Chance at Childhood

Last Saturday, my 7-year old son Patrick was playing outside in the sandbox in our back yard. Actually, he was sitting in the half-sand, half-water mixture, piling the sand around and all over himself. As I stood at the back door watching, I felt the nudge to bypass my planned nap and, instead, head outside and get in the sand with him. So, I went and put on an old t-shirt and a pair of raggedy shorts and walked to the wetted-sandbox.

As I approached, I asked, "Do you mind if I get in there with you?" My son quizzically looked up at me and responded, "In here with me? Yeah!" Sitting there together, as he inevitably started to pile and toss the sand on me, we began to laugh, and I said, "Buddy, we are going to do be doing a lot more together outside. Okay?" To that he smiled and replied, "We'll have some adventures. I want to go deep into the woods where bears are, take some spears, kill one and look into its mouth." I said, "Ok."

Over the years, I have grown to take myself too seriously at times, often burying my humor and playfulness under a blanket of religious responsibility and "dignity." By learning to simply be present and pursue my son's heart, I have a shot at growing young.

Oh yeah, back to the hunt. The preparations have begun. We've decided that, prior to actually facing the bear, we will spend some time hiking and honing our skills with spears (which has since turned to bows and arrows).